Friday, October 15, 2010

When we opened our newspapers today, we would liked to have read that our government is looking out for people throughout our hierarchies. Then we’d see:

The government suddenly ended the ban on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as it would be disruptive and “irreparably harm the public interest in a strong and effective commitment to human rights and to all our citizens.”

But instead, we saw that every effort is being taken to take care of and please the top of our hierarchies. Thursday the Pentagon announced that it will comply with a court order to stop enforcing its "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military, even as the Obama administration asked a federal judge to delay implementation of the ruling. The Obama administration has requested an emergency stay, saying:

Suddenly ending the ban would be disruptive and “irreparably harm the public interest in a strong and effective military. “

In 1978, our gay friend, Steve White, came home in a box from an Army base in Colorado, beaten to death by fellow servicemen, with no explanation to his family and no investigation. We’ve been waiting more than 30 years for the military to come around, and like millions of other Americans, we’re tired of waiting, especially when there’s many other men and women service people, like Steve, who live in harm’s way.